Jerome Powell Rated 'Excellent' Or 'Good' By Most Retail Traders Amid Trump's Sharp Attacks On Fed Chief

A strategist said that until further signs of a weakening economy, the Fed will remain on the sidelines, given the first-quarter contraction was primarily due to the tariff-related hit to net exports.

The Federal Reserve, led by Chair Jerome Powell, opted to hold the Fed funds rate unchanged at 4.25%-4.50% despite the U.S. economy contracting by 0.3% and the uncertainties triggered by President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Powell may have come under harsh criticism from the president and his administration but retail investors have largely thrown their weight behind the central bank chief.

An ongoing Stocktwits poll that has collected responses from 14,000 users found that a majority (56%) graded Powell's performance as either 'excellent' or 'good.'

Of these respondents, 32% graded the Fed chair's performance as 'excellent' and 24% as 'average.'

Meanwhile, 22% of the respondents rated Powell's performance as 'average', and 22% gave him a 'poor/fail' grade.

One user said those giving Powell a low rating support Trump, who changes policies every other day. "Imagine doing [the] same with interest rates every day," they said.

Backing Powell, a second user, said he was keeping inflation down and the unemployment rate low, adding, "His job isn't to pander to the wannabe king."

Another user opposing Powell slammed him by saying he was six to eight months behind the curve.

President Trump has repeatedly signaled that Powell hasn't done his job right and sent feelers that the Fed should lower rates. The president even said he would terminate the Fed president before his term expires, but he has since toned down his rhetoric after the markets did not take kindly to his hard stance.

Commenting on the Fed move last week, fund manager Louis Navellier said the Fed could relent if tariffs don't go well and cause a recession. "I'm still in the camp that they should cut four times this year because we are still in the midst of a global interest rate collapse," he added.

News from Geneva over the weekend suggests the tariff uncertainty may be resolved soon. Following a two-day meeting between the U.S. and China, both parties have expressed confidence in a trade deal, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to divulge more details on Monday.

If the tariff headwind becomes a tailwind, the economy will likely regain the lost momentum, given strong corporate profit growth underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Charlie Ripley, Senior Investment Strategist for Allianz Investment Management, said, "Whether you like it or not, the mantra for Chairman Powell's Fed has always been to make sound policy decisions established from the certainty of economic statistics, or in other words, remaining heavily data dependent."

The strategist, like the Fed, shrugged off the negative first-quarter GDP as transitory, given the impact from net exports, and opined that the current state of the economy showed expanded activity at a solid pace.

"Patience is a virtue and the Fed seemingly has an abundance of it relative to other market participants so until we see some further signs of a weakening economy, the Fed will remain on the sidelines," he added.

The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is scheduled for June 17-18. The futures market is pricing in an 85.8% probability of an unchanged stance yet again. 

Updated economic forecasts and the dot-plot chart will accompany the June decision. 

The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF is down 4.41% this year, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has lost 3.4%.

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